Govt to approach capital market next month to raise funds for four road projects

New Delhi: Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said the government will approach the capital market next month to raise funds for four road projects. The money will be raised through Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), and there will be an investment limit of Rs 10 lakh for retail investors, he added.

"We will be approaching the capital market to raise funds for the four road projects… there will be an assured return of 7-8 per cent," Gadkari said while addressing a Ficci event.

The minister said the government will soon list InvITs on stock exchanges so that retail investors can trade in units of InvITs.

Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) are instruments on the pattern of mutual funds, designed to pool money from investors and invest in assets that will provide cash flows over a period of time.

"In the near future, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will be monetising various road projects through a mix of InvITs and toll-operate-transfer (TOT) model," he noted.

Gadkari said the road ministry will also be opening up projects under the build operate transfer (BOT) model once again.

The minister said he has set a target to take the national highway network length to 2 lakh km by 2024.

The total length of National Highways (NHs) in the country has increased from about 91,287 km in April 2014 to about 1,40,937 km at the end of November 2021.

Gadkari reiterated his aim of replacing the use of petrol and diesel with alternative fuels.

He also noted that India has huge potential for road construction, river connectivity, solid and liquid waste management, parking plaza, irrigation, ropeways and cable car projects.

"We need to accept good technology, research, innovation and successful practices from across the world and within India. We should use alternative materials to reduce cost without compromising on quality," he said.

Pitching his idea of using greener alternatives in road construction, Gadkari said the infrastructure construction industry should find alternatives to cement and other raw materials.

"Glass fibre steel can be used in place of steel. If there is competition, the cost will come down and become reasonable," he noted.

The minister said about 70 per cent of work on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway has already been completed.

"My dream is to take citizens from Nariman Point, Mumbai, to Delhi in 12 hours; we are now working to connect Nariman Point," he added.

While pointing out that the current logistic costs in the country range from 14 to 16 per cent as opposed to 12 per cent in European nations and the US, and around 8 – 10 per cent in China, he said his target is to reduce India's logistic cost to 10 per cent.

The minister also said that his ministry is making roads worth Rs 53,000 crore to decongest Delhi and reduce pollution.

(With PTI inputs)

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